Firm hold for Flint Firebirds
Tick, tick, tick. As the restless hands of time click away on the regular season schedule of the Ontario Hockey League, the Flint Firebirds have opened a six point lead on the Sarnia Sting and a 13 point margin on the Windsor Spitfires for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Back to back wins by Flint over Windsor last week and three straight losses by Sarnia have out the Firebirds on terra firma as they focus on finalizing the no. 8 seed. With nine games to play in the regular season, Flint has 56 points from a record of 26-29-4.
Notably, a pair of forwards acquired by Flint at the January 10 trade deadline have played productive roles for the Firebirds.
Oliver Peer has 10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points in 21 games since joining Flint in a trade with Windsor. Overall, the overage forward has 32 goals, 37 assists, 69 points in 58 games this season.
Meanwhile, 2005 birth year forward Connor Clattenburg has seven goals, seven assists, 14 points in 21 games for Flint since being obtained from the Soo Greyhounds in a block buster trade. Clattenburg clicked for three goals, three assists, six points in three games for Flint last week. Overall, he has 11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points in 51 games.